


hand in hand (the fight of our lives)

by starkindstrs



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, Gen, Infinity Stones, fuck the russos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 00:17:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18680212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkindstrs/pseuds/starkindstrs
Summary: Tony opens his mouth, ready to call out his last words before it all ends. Because he knows this is it. This is the end as he knows it. The end of Thanos, the end of himself. This is his destiny. This has always been written in stone.But then, in the distance, he hears someone call out.“STARK! Take my hand!”Or: how Avengers: Endgame should have ended.





	hand in hand (the fight of our lives)

The battle pauses as Thanos thrusts his fist into the sky, a triumphant smile on his face, straight out of Tony’s worst nightmares, the one that he’s had to live with in the past five years—no, the past ten years, like a plague, rotting away in the deepest parts of his mind.

Tony’s fallen to his knees, the surge of energy knocking his breath away as he feels the stones slowly slot into place, making home in his upgraded suit’s gauntlet. He feels a pulsing throb of electricity, running up his arm, clouding his mind with whispers.

He grits his teeth, willing away the thoughts that the powerful stones are putting into his head. _The universe. The universe is all yours to take, Anthony. Just say the words, and it shall be yours_.

He closes his eyes. Morgan. Pepper. Rhodey. Peter. Harley. _Think of them, think of them and the world that you already have. Your whole world. Your own universe. Nothing but them matters. Nothing at all. Nothing at all_.

With what little strength he possesses, he lifts his right hand up. He opens his eyes and see the stunning realization in Thanos’s eyes, and the gasps of shock that runs through the whole battle as the six stones glow in sight, on the back of his hands.

Tony opens his mouth, ready to call out his last words before it all ends. Because he knows this is it. This is the end as he knows it. The end of Thanos, the end of himself. This is his destiny. This has always been written in stone.

But then, in the distance, he hears someone call out.

“STARK! Take my hand!”

Tony gasps as he feels his free hand tugged into someone else’s, gasps as he feels the electricity that’s been building up in his body start to disperse. Flowing away, through his veins, into the hand that’s holding his tightly.

“Just like the old times, guys!” Peter Quill stands next to him, gritting his teeth to hold in a scream. “Come on, Rocket!” His other hand is outstretched, and from Tony’s blurry eyes, he could see Rocket’s own hand intertwined with Quill’s, and his other hand with Groot’s, and so on, and so forth.

In his hazy mind, Tony doesn’t really know what’s happening, but everything is happening so quickly. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Thanos starting to charge toward him, only to be stopped by Thor’s Stormbreaker hurtling toward his chest, and Carol leaping from somewhere behind the Mad Titan, holding him on his knees, in a tight headlock. He can’t fight her off, now, not without the power stone in Tony’s hand.

Thanos screams, but Tony pays no mind. He can’t stop watching, can’t stop staring in astonishment as a circle formed around the rubble of what used to be the Avengers Compound. All of the heroes have all run forward, grabbing the hands of whoever is standing next to them.

They’re all linked together, now, and Tony feels the tightness in his chest easing away as energy flows out of his body. It’s still powerful, still agonizing, and he’s still the center of the infinite power, but he’s no longer the only one burdened with it anymore.

He locks eyes with Pepper right across from where he’s kneeling. Her forehead is knitted in pain, but her eyes is filled with determination as she clutches Peter’s hand next to her. And Peter, sweet, amazing, Peter Parker, only looks back at him with his big brown eyes and a proud smile on his face.

It’s visible—the crackles of electricity that’s surrounding them all now, a free flow of power slipping out of the gauntlet in his hand. Tony takes one last deep breath, ready to finally make his move, when he feels fingers slipping into his gauntleted hand.

A grunt from his right side, and Tony lets out his breath as Steve Rogers’ bright blue eyes stares right back at him, while Thor stands at his other side, holding Steve’s hand, completing the perfect circle.

Steve slowly unlocks his hand from Tony’s, freeing the gauntleted fingers but sliding downwards instead to hold his hand at the wrist. He’s visibly shaking, absorbing most of the energy straight from the gauntlet, much like Tony himself.

His eyes never leave Tony’s. Through his trembling, through the agony, Steve nods his sharply at him.

“Together,” Steve mouths, slowly bringing their joined hands upwards, for the rest of the world to see. _Together. We lose, we win, we’ll do it all together._

Tony nods back, willing for the world to be right again. _No more Thanos. No more of his alien army. No more. For infinity._

Tony snaps his fingers and the world turns into a black void of space.

 

* * *

 

Tony awakes to a white ceiling and beeps of a heart monitor. He wakes slowly, pieces of his mind slotting into place at a sluggish pace, a twitch in his toes, in his fingers. A groan slips out of his throat involuntarily, through his mouth that’s covered with an oxygen mask, and he closes his eyes again.

 _I’m alive_ , he thinks groggily. _I made it. I’m alive._

He knows he is, because every inch of his body is throbbing with _agony_. If he was dead, he wouldn’t feel it. A choked breath escapes through his mouth, and his eyes water.

“Tony? Honey, it’s alright,” Pepper’s soft voice brushes the side of his head. “You’re okay. You’re alright.”

He opens his eyes to his beautiful, beautiful wife, sweet Pepper Potts-Stark, the greatest woman that’s ever graced the earth, her strawberry hair swept to the side, her green eyes looking at him in concern as she reaches out for the nurse’s button. She’s whispering soothing words at him, wiping the tears that’s started falling down his temples. “Pep. _Pep_. Pepper...”

Tony tries to move his hand up, just to touch her face, wipe the tears on her face, feel the smile on her lips. Only to find out that he can’t.

Pepper, sensing the panic in his eyes, soothes him once more. “Ssssh, honey, breathe slowly. Just take it easy.”

Tony tries, and _god_ does he try. Pepper’s small hand is rubbing gently on his chest. “Did we... did we _win_?”

A bright smile blooms on her lips. “Yes, Tony. _We did_.”

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by that iconic scene from gotg. tony lost his arm but he'll live to fully retire and see his little daughter grow up. he'll be prosthetic arm buddies with bucky. that's it. that's what happens in endgame.


End file.
